Weather
Chilly day ,no more than 6 degrees in the morning,North East wind :12 knots,Calm sea and 13 miles of visibility. Cloudy.
Ecological
Chunk was back on the railway he had fresh bloody scares on his back. This one is a really a stubborn fighter: he keeps coming back even if he knows pretty well that the other one is up and alert. he stayed to 2:00 PM and we saw him later sleeping on Middle Island
Vessels
3 watching vessels
Weather
North east wind at 8:00AM, 12 knots ,over 13 miles of visibility.Pretty chilly morning (4 degrees Celsius ), cloudy and rainy.
Ecological
So many eagles around and some crows too…I guess they are attracted by the Elephant Seal body still in the rocks but actually they have been everywhere around all the time…juveniles and adults.. Boss was coming back early from water. The 2 females have almost not moved from the birth spot and gradually the pups got bigger. Pam saw the famous harbour Seal ,”Six Spots” is his name but we we have not found him yet.
see the shadow of the eagles on South Island
Eagle around
Maintenance and visits
Kyle came Today to get the chain saw that needed some repairs or a new one …The dryer has also some problems.With Guy they had a look at the old and unused generator. it will be hauled out pretty soon. In the afternoon Travis from the college came in his Kayak and stopped for a visit of the place and some chatting with us . The day was just perfect for the crossing : no current and no wind.! One watching boat seen
Weather
It has been a very calm weekend . North East wind mainly and very light wind around 50 knots and a pretty cloudy sky all the time.
Ecological
Chunk was back on Saturday but not for so long , I would say 3 hours …He stayed closed to the boat shed . For a long time ” Boss ” was deeply asleep but at the end when the other tried to come up …he just needed to show up and Chunk was gone as fast as a torpedo. Don’t tell me that an elephant seal can’t go fast! Every thing looked fine with the e females Elephant seals and pups . They are bigger and the second born bigger than the first. The male tried to get one female after the other but without success and a lot of drama. It is always scary to see the young one so closed in this situation. Many eagles have been around those last days. On Sunday we had 4 geese and later 7 and on Sunday 13…many cormorants too and Oyster catchers.
Maintenance
We went on with the wood stacking job and brought bak to the main house the wood under the guest house. On sunday we were busy with the jetty. Logs everywhere and our main concern was to get free the launching boat way in case of an emergency.
Vessels
Just a few boats around:a small sailboat in the passage, a big fishing boat on his way to the coast, and a few watching boats .
Weather
Pretty windy day ,North wind ,22knots at 8:00 and around 30 at 2:00PM.,white crests on the sea,visibility over 15miles
Maintenance
Outside wall of the main house and staircase washed.
Ecological
Birds very active :fishing all around. many Oyster catchers on the south rocks of Main. Quiet Elephant seals
Census
Elephant seals:5: one big male,2 females and 2 pups
Sea lions:140
Gulls:440
Geese :4
Oyster catchers :20
Cormorants :around 40
Eagles: 2 adults and 2 juveniles
Black Turnstones:15
Harlequin ducks: 14 seen this week
Others
Water infiltration by the windows and from the wall in a spot.Stairs a little bit slippery
Weather
Looking at the forecast we were expecting a gust (to 40knots)on the 17th but it stayed pretty calm .Just a big swell came from East. When we had a look on the website Windyty the wind was on the West coast outside and on Victoria and the North of Vancouver Island. The sky has been very cloudy with a dark sea and rain never far.The air temperature was a higher and the water too( around 7 degrees Celsius.) In the morning of the 18th in a gloomy atmosphere the flag was hanging like a stick for a while and like the day before keeps changing its direction all the time . The tides are really high. never saw them like that before
Ecological
Everything is fine in the nursery .The big male spend his days closed to the females and babies ,waiting for his turn and sometimes trying to get one or the other but to now without success. We got the visit of a few eagles and some geese .
Maintenance
More wood split and stacked. The desalinator and generator are on almost everyday . Guy hauled up with the crane a very long log around 30feet. The last 200 liters of gas oil have been transfered to the yellow tank.We have now 7 barrels empty ready to be filled up and 2 Propane bottles. The barrels bottoms have been got rid of rust and repainted.
Vessels
One watching boat almost everyday
This morning before the sunset the second pup was born! Almost same location on the grass closed to the desalination house … Boss (big nose male ) was looking at the quiet scenery when another male arrived …I never saw a elephant Seal going so fast. he rushed and made the other one go back to the water and for an hour he stayed at the top of the jetty! never 2 captains !
Weather
Very nice weather 15 to 20 knots East wind . calm day
Ecological
Now every 2 hours the baby got fed and everything looked fine. the baby was not moving easily and was crying a lot maybe from frustration or to get attention. It was really nice to see everything from the window .
Maintenance
Kyle came with his wife and helped Guy on the boat shed roof. it badly needed repairs and patches of shingles before the heavy rainy days expected next week.
Marine activity
One whale watcher boats with freezing people ! and a plane above in the afternoon
Weather
Wind:11knots,North East
Sky:Clear to cloudy
Visibility:Over 15miles
Ecological
Everything was going smoothly for the the new one.We missed the birth for one minute looking for our camera. It was so quickly done . What was very nice to watch and listen were the fist interactions between the 2. The male coming from sea one hour letter was also pretty dramatic : the female trying to protect the young one but she couldn’t help a full inspection. After that he went away observing closely the situation from a distance. The placenta went out 6hours later for the delight of a gull keeping the others out of the way.The baby was already looking for the tits and the mother tried to help him but no feeding for that day.
other
Visitors :Kyle brought James . and he put a camera up ready for the next coming birth in a few days.
Weather
Wind:at 8:00 12km/h North East
Sea : calm,no waves
Visibility :over 15 miles
Ecological
At low tide I discovered 3 couples of oystercatchers. Many hunting and watching eagles around ,some very big and immature ones. At night the big male Elephant Seal and one of the female came closed to the house ,lying against each other and she was complaining at times.
Weather
Wind:South East 15knots
Sea:choppy to flat
Sky:cloddish
Visibility:over 13 miles
Visitors
Finally Kyle was able to brought Christine with 2nd Nature. Pretty cold day for the whaler
Ecological
The new “boss” with a big nose Elephant Seal is here to stay…